


we’re walking the wire

by rainshowers



Category: Hannibal (TV) RPF
Genre: Fluff, Hannibal Extended Universe, M/M, Miscommunication, RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 11:58:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16346318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainshowers/pseuds/rainshowers
Summary: Maybe, just maybe, six years without contact would really strain a friendship.





	we’re walking the wire

**Author's Note:**

> This was created purely for entertainment purposes only. I meant no disrespect to either of the actors or to their respective families shall they stumble upon this fic.  
> 
> 
> i’m looking for more hannibal [mutuals](https://www.twitter.com/lecterious)! ♡

One of Mads’—no, _Hannibal’s_ —thumbs was softly caressing his jaw in a relaxing circular motion that somehow managed to keep Hugh’s racing heart rate calm down even just a little. He wasn’t sure if Mads could feel his chest pounding, seeing as they were terribly close and that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, but even if he did, Hugh was sure the other man would just brush it off.

When Bryan said that there would be a chance for Will and Hannibal to be intimate once the show got renewed, Hugh was not expecting that the first day of filming would start with this: Will and Hannibal’s first kiss in Castle Lecter after Hannibal had patched him up. Sure, he may have said that he was not opposed to any intimacy between their characters all those years before, but he was not so sure about it now.

If there was a line, Hugh might have forgotten it already. He was too focused on Mads’ face as he waited for the inevitable. Mads, on the other hand, was quite reserved. He always was. He had his eyes closed halfway as he slowly leaned in, breath ghosting hotly on Hugh’s cheeks, and placed a soft peck on Hugh’s lips, a fleeting moment that Hugh barely even registered, before moving away. He wanted to chase him, but it was still way out of character for Will to kiss Hannibal back, so Hugh settled for sticking to the script and followed Mads’ movements with his eyes instead.

“Cut!”

Vincenzo said loudly from somewhere to their right and Hugh had to quickly wrap a sheet around his body to prevent himself from freezing. He adjusted his eyes and saw that most of the crew were giving them wide smiles and thumbs up. They sold it. _Perfect_. Vincenzo called both of them to review their scenes for the last time before they were done for the day. Or days, as he loved to put it since they originally spent an approximate of twenty hours each shoot back in the good old days.

Hugh thanked them afterward and let himself be ushered to the dressing room to pick up his stuff, desperately wanting to go back to the hotel to get something to drink. He passed by Mads who gave him a single polite nod, a small tight smile, and nothing else. It was terribly unusual for him. The man didn’t even bother catching up with Hugh in-between takes, always occupied with teasing Tao and Caroline or occasionally dragging a smoke with Laurence. Hugh felt left out, to say the least.

Maybe, just maybe, six years without contact would really strain a friendship.

He walked from the set to the cast’s reserved hotel’s resto-bar while covered in a stylish scarlet scarf and his favorite taupe coat. On normal days, he would’ve gotten a cab because of how cold it was, but he wanted to move his legs just for a bit and let his mind wander.

For the past years, Hugh had countless dilemmas that mainly centered around the idea of ‘what if’. _What if he called him? What if he asked him over for dinner or a couple of drinks? What if the show got renewed?_ It was a constant personal battle that he never had the guts to carry out. The funny thing was, if he could even call it funny, Mads hadn’t also seemed to bother him throughout the entire time that the show was canceled. Yes, that included not greeting him on his birthday. He knew they were both busy, what with all the projects they’d been getting lately, but a simple greeting wouldn’t hurt.

“Okay?”

Hugh looked up and saw Mads standing just a few steps away from him. Whereas Hugh continued to lose his own, the other’s accent was much stronger than it had been before. He gave him a small smile and gestured for him to sit down, subtly keeping in mind that the place was already almost empty. Mads ordered a pint, but Hugh ordered something stronger. They sat in silence for what seemed like hours, sipping on their drinks as if they were strangers casually enjoying the nightlife in this cold country. Hugh sighed to himself. “How have you been?”

Mads turned to him, licking off the beer suds on his upper lip. “Tired, mostly. Been all over the world. You?”

“Good, good,” Hugh deadpanned. He knew at the back of his mind that he should say something to keep the conversation going, six years was a long time and he wanted to know about any interesting exploits Mads had done, but the words seemed all choked up in his throat. The awkwardness hung in the air and he was almost sure Mads could feel it, too, but was just too polite to say something. Hugh dragged a hand down his face, readying himself for the inevitable confession that he was about to make. After all, he had always been eloquent and outspoken regarding his feelings.

Mads, however, drained the contents of his glass, and stood up to leave his payment and tip on the bar before Hugh could say something. “I’ll carry on. You should get some rest, too. I’ll see you tomorrow, Hugh.”

_Hugh._

Not ‘wee-man’, not a joking ‘Will’... Just Hugh. It was as if they never knew each other in the first place. He smiled at the man with a soft, “good night” and looked back at his drink with a disbelieving scoff, wondering what the hell was going on.

 

 

•••

 

 

Hugh came on set the next day with visible bags and lines under his eyes. Sleep didn’t come easily to him last night and he spent hours tossing and turning in his bed to no avail until he got tired and checked that he only had three hours of sleep left. The week wasn’t being as kind to him as he had hoped. Hugh’s eyes roamed to see that the rest of the cast was already there and wearing their make-up. Including Mads who was busy browsing his phone on the couch while wearing grey-colored sleep pants and a navy-blue sweater. He was also barefoot.

“Hey,” he said casually, trying to erase whatever this awkwardness was between them. He was a professional, for fuck’s sake. If he was any good at his job then he can handle himself. Mads glanced up at him and smiled. “They changed the agenda for today. Caroline and Katharine’s scenes are up first so we don’t have anything to do for a few hours.”

Hugh groaned and slumped onto the couch. “Thank God, I haven’t had a decent sleep yet.”

He saw Mads raise a brow at him but said nothing. Hugh closed his eyes, head resting on the backrest of the couch, and willed himself to sleep. He felt Mads shuffling to his side for a moment, the sound of fluffing a pillow louder to his ears than normal, and then an arm wrapping around his body made him jerk awake. Hugh stared in confusion as Mads carefully guided him to place his head on his lap and murmured a low, “You’ll hurt your neck if you fall asleep like that.”

“Thank you,” he managed, sighing as his head hit the pillow on Mads’ lap. The other man ran a hand through Hugh’s hair, arranging it so as to not fall and irritate his face. “Go to sleep, wee-man.”

 _Wee-man._ The way Mads said it was so natural and sweet that he felt the flutter in his stomach begin anew. Hugh slightly angled his face to look at Mads. “You’re not avoiding me anymore?”

“Silly,” Mads replied, a soft smile playing on his lips as he continued carding his fingers through Hugh’s hair, making it harder for him to stay awake. “I’m not avoiding you.”

“You sure?”

He heard Mads snort. “When have I ever?”

“You didn’t call me,” Hugh pointed out sleepily, allowing his eyes to finally give in, “for six years.”

Mads stopped playing with his hair and was silent for a few seconds, as if not bothering to offer an explanation to Hugh’s accusation. Hugh brushed it off, thinking nothing of it. At least the man didn’t kick him out of his lap. He heard a resigned sigh followed by a chuckle shortly after and felt the other man tuck his hair to his ear. “I thought you’ll reach out to me first.”

 

 

•••

 

 

They had to go through some minor reshoots for the day and they were lucky enough to wrap the scenes up before ten o’clock. Surprisingly, the day wasn’t as tiring as he thought it would be and, although their personal conversations were still strained, Hugh felt more comfortable with Mads than their first day together back on-set. Mads was smiling and looking at him more when he woke up like the entire six years was just a bad dream.

Hugh just finished his shower, donning on his most comfortable shirt and pajamas, when he heard a patterned knock on the door. It was the same one from years ago and he knew he didn’t need to look at the peephole to know who it was on the other side. Life was funny that way, he guessed.

He opened the door and, sure enough, it was Mads expertly holding two bottles of beer in one hand while holding a slim folder with the other. They had always separated the ones that were not yet done with the old ones. Mads grinned at him, his whole face seemed to light up. “Want to go over our scenes?”

“With a beer?” Hugh asked, nodding at the bottles the other was holding. Mads moved past him and gave him a knowing look. “Two beers. Always.”

He offered the reclining chair to Mads and proceeded to open the beers with the bathroom door’s strike plate before settling down onto his bed. Hugh turned his copy to page 34 and skimmed his eyes over the words on the paper.

 

 

ACT SIX

INT. CASTLE LECTER – WILL’S BEDROOM – NIGHT  

Will is sitting on the bed half-naked with his back on the headboard as he quietly stares at a half-naked Hannibal who is carefully inspecting his face wound.

He could feel the warmth radiating from him. Will basks himself in it, eyes unmoving from Hannibal’s face. It’s still the same warmth he has been chasing for years.

Will looks away just as Hannibal sighs in relief, satisfied that nothing was wrong with the other, but inches closer to sit next to Will. A pregnant pause as Will might turn away from him. Then:

HANNIBAL

You don’t flinch away from me anymore, Will. Have you finally stopped being afraid of me?

 

 

“Huh,” he let out, glancing up to see Mads looking at him with the same softness that he had been giving him the whole day. Hugh raised his beer. “Looks like they really want us to share a bed.”

Mads tipped his bottle and raised a brow. “Can’t blame them.”

Hugh let a few moments pass, watching as Mads’ Adam’s apple bob with every swallow he took before he cleared his throat and looked on the floor. “This should be awkward.”

“But it’s not.”

He turned his gaze back to the other, hoping to catch any sort of emotion on his face. Hugh knew he was hard to read sometimes, but Mads was completely different. If he was good at expressing so much even with just the subtle movements of his eyes, he was far better at hiding them when the cameras are off. Hugh ran a hand through his hair. “You didn’t call me for six years, Mads.”

Mads gulped the rest of his beer and carefully put it beside the flat-screen television. He smiled, cheeks pink. “As I recall, you didn’t call me either.”

“I thought you were busy,” he confessed in a soft but audible whisper. Mads chuckled and shook his head. “I thought the same of you. You don’t know how many times I’ve picked up my phone and thought of calling you.”

Their eyes met, Mads’ eyes were unbelievably sparkly under the hotel room’s light, and Hugh couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. “We’re idiots.”

“That we are,” Mads said, standing up from his comfortable position to close the short distance between them. He tipped Hugh’s head with his forefinger and thumb on his chin and looked at him in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Hugh.”

Hugh smiled sheepishly up at him. “Well, I’m sorry, too. I was the one overthinking it.”

“Come on.” Mads motioned for him to arrange his position on the bed. The man took off his shoes and sat on the bed in the same manner Will was supposed to sit, leaving an empty space to his side for Hugh. Mads pat the empty space and grinned at him. “Let’s run this over so we can rest.”

They skipped the other parts and went straight into the dialogues. Mads cleared his throat and turned to him, but Hugh kept his eyes forward, staying true to the script.

Mads tentatively tucks Hugh’s hair on the back of his right ear, fingers lingering on his neck. Hugh suppressed the shudder that wanted to go down his spine. Finally, Mads spoke. “You don’t flinch away from me anymore, Will. Have you finally stopped being afraid of me?”

“I’m not afraid of you, Hannibal,” he replied, this time turning to face Mads and search his eyes. Their nightly practice always seemed more intimate than when there were cameras closing in on their faces. “Not anymore.”

“It seems as if you’ve continued to confound me.” Mads angled his upper body towards Hugh so that he was now facing him completely. He brushed a hair from Hugh’s forehead. “We’ve betrayed each other more than we have forgiven ourselves. Tell me, have you forgiven me, Will?”

“I’ve forgiven you. For everything.”

Mads dropped his gaze and Hugh’s eyes followed it. He couldn’t help but admire how Mads could easily immerse himself into his character, even mimicking how the actual character would do in a situation such as this one. Sometimes, he wondered whether Mads was playing Hannibal or if he was just playing himself. Mads exhaled softly. “Will you go back to them? To your family?”

“I don’t think I can...” Hugh reached out with his right hand, letting it run to the edges of Mads’ jaw. He swallowed and looked into the other’s eyes. “Especially now that you’re here with me.”

Mads didn’t say anything for a moment and they stared at each other in silence, breathing in unison, when a tear dropped on Mad’s cheek. Hugh wiped it with his thumb by instinct and smiled. “You’re an amazing actor.”

“And you’re ruining the moment, Hugh,” Mads replied, clearly amused with what Hugh did. Hugh didn’t expect the other, however, to place a soft kiss on his temple. He felt a flutter in his stomach once more, making him sigh.

“Do you want to sleep over?” He asked in a whisper.

Mads ran his fingers through Hugh’s hair and smiled widely. “Well, we’re already in bed, aren’t we?”


End file.
